Mayor’s Office

Mayor's Office

New Haven's Neighborhood Advocate fosters relationships and builds a sense of communication between local government and its citizens by promoting community welfare, encouraging social interaction, creating multiple methods of communication with residents, ascertaining the needs and wants of residents and increasing the ability to meet those needs through a higher level of participation and interaction between residents.

Deb-Anne Smith, Executive Assistant to the Mayor, is New Haven's Neighborhood Advocate and continues to work with residents wishing to form new neighborhood associations while remaining allegiant to persevere relationships with our current neighborhood leaders and strengthen existing neighborhoods. "Building a successful neighborhood association takes people who are willing to make a commitment to get involved in their community and make things happen. When neighborhoods are organized and active, this results in a stronger community."

If you have any questions regarding this service, please contact Deb-Anne at (260) 748-7070.

Neighborhood Advocate

New Haven's Neighborhood Advocate fosters relationships and builds a sense of communication between local government and its citizens by promoting community welfare, encouraging social interaction, creating multiple methods of communication with residents, ascertaining the needs and wants of residents and increasing the ability to meet those needs through a higher level of participation and interaction between residents.

Deb-Anne Smith, Executive Assistant to the Mayor, is New Haven's Neighborhood Advocate and continues to work with residents wishing to form new neighborhood associations while remaining allegiant to persevere relationships with our current neighborhood leaders and strengthen existing neighborhoods. "Building a successful neighborhood association takes people who are willing to make a commitment to get involved in their community and make things happen. When neighborhoods are organized and active, this results in a stronger community." If you have any questions regarding this service, please contact (260) 748-7070.

Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council

The Mayor's Youth Advisory Council has been established in New Haven to provide an opportunity for young adults to get involved and learn about their local government. As Youth Council Coordinator, Deb-Anne works with other adult advisors and interacts with young adults to build mutual respect and work together as a group to acquire the knowledge of local government attempting to bridge the gap between the adults and youth in our community.

"By participating in the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council, our young adults will be able to develop stronger leadership skills while working in conjunction with the Mayor, City Council and other local government departments as they serve as a forum for the youth of New Haven."

All interested students must complete an application and submit it to Youth Council Coordinator Deb-Anne Smith at the Mayor's Office. For more information, please contact Deb-Anne at (260) 748-7070.

New Haven Citizens’ Academy

The New Haven Citizens’ Academy was developed to engage New Haven citizens with their city government by providing an interactive forum to learn first-hand how the City of New Haven is structured and managed; the city’s relationship with Allen County and other public agencies; what services and programs are available through city agencies; how to access needed services; and how to apply this knowledge by serving as an information resource for your neighborhoods, non-profit groups and local businesses.

"To provide quality and efficient government services making the community a desirable, safe and enjoyable place to live, work and play."

Welcome to the City of New Haven

Welcome to the City of New Haven! It is my privilege to welcome you to the New Haven Web Page. This is your link to your local City government. Here you will find out how to contact the Mayor and members of City Council, meet City Department heads, learn about City services and find the answers to most of your questions.

We are very proud of our City and this web page, and would like for you to take your time and browse through the various departments and services. The City has been very busy this past year with many public works projects, including water and sewer improvements, water main extensions, street construction, and various street improvements and maintenance. We are working closely with City Council on projects such as, Downtown Redevelopment, Economic Development and expansion of City services. We are currently developing new parks, working to improve our existing parks, and building our River Greenway that is connecting us with Fort Wayne's Greenway. We are also in the midst of preparing a new Master Plan for development.

As our City continues to grow and attract new families, we find ourselves faced with many challenges. Our policy is, and always will be, to develop New Haven with regard to our existing community. New Haven is building for the future to provide the very best for you - the taxpayer.

We are at a very important time in formulating the destiny of our City and we want you to know that your City government and staff are very excited about the future. The City of New Haven needs continuous input from all of our citizens. I encourage you to attend City Council meetings, which are scheduled on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. I also encourage you to become involved in volunteer opportunities, such as with the Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services, the Heritage Society, citizen task forces, and neighborhood associations, among many of our community projects. Some of our projects happen simply because of our community volunteers. We are very thankful for all those volunteers who have become involved in this community and appreciate all your efforts and hard work on community projects. Community involvement and support through volunteerism is something we are very proud of in New Haven.

Thank you and always remember that......"You Are Always At Home In New Haven, Indiana."

Provide a statement of finances and general condition of the city to the common council at least once a year.

Provide information to City Council regarding city affairs.

Recommend to City Council any action Mayor considers proper.

Call special meeting of City Council when necessary.

Supervise subordinate officers.

Ensure efficient government of the city.

Approve or veto ordinances, orders and resolutions of the legislative body.

Presents the city budget for Council review.

Appoint heads of departments, employees of the departments, and many board and commission members.

Suspend or remove officers or employees appointed by the Mayor.

Fix the salaries of all appointed officials or employees appointed (except police, firefighters and appointees of the Clerk-Treasurer.)

Conduct monthly meetings of department heads, adopt rules and regulations for individual departments and arrange for unannounced audits of accounts for departments.

Fill vacancies in city offices when required.

Sign all bonds, deeds and contracts of the city and all licenses issued by the city.

Perform wedding ceremonies.

Serve as presiding officer of the City Council and only votes in the event of a tie. (3rd class cities)

Mayor appoints the City Attorney who manages the city’s legal affairs.

Serve as Chairman of the Board of Public Works & Safety.

As Chairman, the Mayor appoints Fire Dept. Chief, Police Chief and City Engineer.

Serve as Chairman of the Fire Governing Body.

What does the Mayor do?

The mayor is the city executive responsible for the day-to-day operations of all city services. The mayor is also responsible for working with the elected leaders of various government units in the interest of New Haven residents. The mayor is the presiding officer of the New Haven City Council.

What is the Mayor’s involvement at the State level?

The mayor is actively involved at the state level as New Haven’s ambassador. The mayor meets with state representatives on a regular basis to ensure that New Haven’s interests are being addressed at the state level. While the state legislature is in session, Mayor McDonald spends time speaking with elected leaders at the State House. The mayor makes several trips to testify before committees and lobbies for positive legislation for our community.

What is the Mayor’s responsibility in Economic Development?

The Mayor oversees the Planning and Economic Development Department and its efforts to attract new employers and businesses to the community. New Haven works in cooperative effort with the Fort Wayne/Allen County Economic Development Alliance, which is an independent office marketing the Allen County area to prospective employers. The New Haven economic development professionals work closely with the Alliance on many projects each year and the relationship has proven to be very successful.

Many residents have expressed an interest and desire for a wider variety of stores and restaurants in New Haven. Although the Mayor doesn’t have the ability to bring any particular business to the city, Mayor McDonald is working diligently to promote residential growth and bolstering our demographics. By strengthening our population, raising our per capita income and investing in our infrastructure, New Haven will become more attractive to the business and employment opportunities our residents want to have.